Clarke's Law
by senawario
Summary: No summary, except a sheepish, "Sorry, couldn't resist!" Oh, and also, "Sorry it's so short!"


**Summary**: No summary, except a sheepish, "Sorry, couldn't resist!" Oh, and, "Sorry it's so short!"

**Legal Disclaimer**: If you recognise it, it probably belongs to JKR and/or her business partners. If you don't recognise it, you haven't read enough fanfic, because I refuse to believe I'm the first person to come up with this ;-)

* * *

**Hogwarts, July 10th, 1997**

"I see. So they're going to use an old law that I never knew about, and try and send me to Azkaban. Despite all I have done, including killing Voldemort, for them."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. I have a plan, so you just don't worry you cute little head about it. No one will send _my_ boyfriend to Azkaban!" said Hermione, with faux arrogance.

Harry grinned. He wasn't worried - he had confidence in his girlfriend.

"Just make sure your father's role in procuring that equipment for me, and training me with his SAS buddies after Sirius died, does not come out. As a muggle, he won't have a snowball's chance in hell of escaping whatever they decide to throw at him."

* * *

**Ministry of Magic, Courtroom Ten, July 30, 1997**

"Mr. Potter", said Minister Bones, in her usual brisk manner. "You are accused of using muggle weaponry to prosecute a wizarding war. How do you plead?"

Harry snorted. Amelia looked pained to do this, but her hands were tied.

"Before I respond, can I ask why that is actually a problem?"

"Mr Potter", sighed Amelia. "I realise that the Wizengamot is now a much more inclusive set of people, and muggleborns have a reasonably proportionate representation. All thanks to you, I might add, and you know I am personally grateful to you for saving my life last year.

"We have also repealed many of the unfair, unjust, and in some cases downright cruel or inhuman laws that were created within the last couple of years."

"However", she continued, "there are some laws that were put in place decades ago, and they are still in force. As such, the moment I took oath as Minister, I became oath-bound to prosecute violations of some of those laws as soon as I became aware of them."

Harry knew all this of course; Ted Tonks, his lawyer, had explained the background to him in preparation for the case. But Harry had chosen to defend himself, using Ted's expertise only outside the court, mainly because he knew who was behind this trial, and no it was not Amelia.

The law against using muggle weaponry had come about during a period when Wizarding Britain was experiencing a spate of burglaries, petty robberies, and murder. The use of muggle weapons conferred a totally unfair advantage on the attackers, and the only way the authorities could deal with the problem effectively was to make such a **big deal** out of it, and make the punishment so draconian, that even a minute risk of being caught became a serious deterrent.

_Too bad I found out about it after I offed Riddle_, grumbled Harry.

"I understand, Minister. I also understand it is at your discretion, unless someone in the Wizengamot - even if it is just one member - forces the issue", smiled Harry, looking at two members in particular. _Harold Snotbridge and Odin Triller, your time will come_, he thought.

"Still, without committing myself to a plea - I would like to ask: why is this not publicised more widely? Why aren't muggle-born and muggle-raised children told this?"

"I'm afraid that is a question for another audience, Mr Potter. Meanwhile, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty", said Harry in a firm, clear, voice.

"Very well. The ministry will now call three witnesses who can attest to the fact that you had used muggle weaponry in several instances in the last year. Mr Ronald Weasley, please step forward."

After Ron had taken the oath, Minister Bones started his questioning.

"Mr Weasley, please state, as briefly as you can, how Harry Potter defeated seven death-eaters near Gryffindor Tower on the night of June 30, 1997".

"Yes Ma'am. Harry had just come down from the astronomy tower - where Snape had murdered Dumbledore - and landed in the middle of a pitched battle between me, Neville" - here, Amelia interrupted him, to interject, "that would be Mr Longbottom?" - "yes ma'am. Anyway, me and Neville" - he noticed Hermione grimacing and stopped.

"_Neville and I_", he said, sending a small smirk at Hermione, "were in a pitched battle with a few death-eaters who had managed to separate us from the rest of our house, and we were having a tough time. There were seven of them, against two of us, and even Harry's somewhat advanced power and range of spells would not have helped.

"Harry then pulled out a - a 'gun', he called it - a gun, pointed it at the nearest death-eater, and pressed something with his finger. A…" he paused, giving Hermione a pleading look. "Bullet", mouthed Hermione.

"Yes. A bollet came out of it, and hit the death-eater, and incapacitated him instantly. He repeated that very very quickly - much faster than I have ever seen any wizard shoot spells, until all seven were down.

"He then ran down the stairs, shouting that Snape and Malfoy had just murdered Dumbledore, and he was going to go after them."

"Mr Potter, your witness", said Amelia, indicating Harry should cross-examine.

"Mr Weasley, regardless of what you think I used, please tell us what would have happened if I had stuck to the spells taught me at school thus far?"

"We would all have died", said Ron succinctly.

"I assume you would not have preferred that?" said Harry, producing a titter of laughter around the court-room, including from Ron.

"Mr Weasley, and you may step down", said Minister Bones. "I now call the next witness."

She had Zacharias Smith come up and take his oath. Then she said, "Mr Smith, please state, as briefly as you can, how the death-eaters Snape and Malfoy were defeated by Mr Potter."

"Harry was running helter skelter down the stairs, all the way from the seventh floor - you could hear his angry shouts at Snape and Malfoy a mile away. When he was about half way down, his broomstick arrived - he must have summoned it at some point - and he leapt on and literally flew the rest of the way down and out the main doors.

"Those of us who were very close to the door managed to continue to keep him in sight, simply by taking a few steps out of the door. He rapidly overtook Snape and Malfoy, and holstered his wand, taking out what Ron has just described as a 'gun'. He shot both of them in the legs, incapacitating them, then got off the broom. His anger was palpable, even from that distance, and I don't blame him, especially if he _saw_ them murdering Prof Dumbledore.

"Anyway, once those two were down, he quickly expelliarmus-ed their wands. Then he paused, trying to think of what he should do with them. He was also, it was quite clear, trying to catch his breath.

"Unfortunately, both death-eaters had backup wands, and their hands were not constrained or hurt in any way. Both took out their spare wands and simultaneously started mouthing the killing curse.

"They had just gotten to the K in Kedavra, when Harry shot both of them between the eyes."

A brief silence followed.

"Mr Potter, your witness."

"Same question, Smith. If I had stuck to schoolboy spells, or even auror spells, do you think I could have escaped _both_ killing curses?"

"No."

"And just like Ron earlier, I can honestly say I would not have preferred that", grinned Harry. Turning to Amelia, he said "no further questions".

"You may step down Mr Smith. I now call Senior Gregson to the stand."

After Gregson had taken his oath, Bones asked her question.

"Please tell us, in your own words, what happened the night of July 3rd, 1997 in Diagon Alley".

"I was on patrol, along with Auror Spoonbreaker, and we had just passed the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron when we felt an enormous magical pressure - someone had laid a massive anti-transport ward. No portkeys, no apparation, no floo, heck it seemed like not even a broomstick would move!

"About three dozen death-eaters landed in one group, probably using one massive portkey, with Vol- You-know-who at the head. Within two seconds - and we confirmed this by viewing a pensieve memory - they had killed _seventeen_ witches and wizards, including four children.

"While everyone was running around screaming, Potter came out of the Leaky. He had apparently been staying there since Dumbledore had passed."

"He ran out, as I said", he continued, "and while running, he pulled out what I later discovered - with the help of a book that was acquired for me by a muggleborn colleague - was possibly a 'Sten gun'."

"Was it remotely anything magical, in your opinion?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Your witness, Mr Potter."

"Thank you, Minister", said Harry.

"Auror Gregson", he continued, "how many people were killed before I used this alleged muggle weapon?"

"Seventeen, including four children."

"All civilians?"

"Yes."

"And how many were killed once I started shooting?"

"None."

"And how many would have been killed between that day and now, if Voldemort had lived?"

Amelia cut that question short, saying that would be speculating. "However", she allowed, "it would have been at least a few dozen."

It was clear the spectator gallery, and even many in the Wizengamot, were with him. But the purebloods who had started this were unmoved. They did not need to be in a majority; that particular law was structured so that if you were found guilty, you'd be sent to Azkaban for life.

And finding someone guilty was only a matter of getting at the truth. They didn't even have to manufacture any evidence against him - Potter had actually done that which he was being accused of.

After the last witness was sent back, Amelia again turned to Harry.

"Mr Potter, as you can see, the evidence-"

"The evidence is meaningless. None of them actually saw the equipment I was using. It may have looked muggle but it was all magical."

Amelia looked at him silently.

"Explain, please."

"I would like to call up my friend Hermione to the stand, and demonstrate."

Hermione came up to the stand. By prior arrangement, Amelia conveniently "forgot" to swear her to tell the truth. In the excitement of the trial, and the interest in this new, unexpected, twist, no one else caught it. Lucky!

"This", said Hermione, pulling out a revolver from her mokeskin bag, "is a muggle gun. It can be used to fire bullets at a very high speed, and as you know such bullets can cause injury and death."

She set the device aside, and pulled out another, that looked pretty similar.

"This one is a conjured item, made to look like the muggle gun you saw earlier only for the convenience it gives to the caster. It has a 'magazine' that is also conjured, containing 256 bullets in 16 rows of 16.

"It has a crystal focus that can take in and hold magical energy, much the same way you would charge a ward or a runic circle with your wand. The crystal has runes that, when activated, expel the bullets with a modified banishing charm at high speed."

"I request Prof McGonagall, transfiguration mistress, Prof Flitwick, charms master, Prof Babbling, ancient runes mistress, and Prof Vector, arithmancy mistress, to the stand to examine this device and confirm what I have said."

The four professors came up to the stand, took the device from Hermione's hands, and examined it - including opening it up - for a few minutes, conferring quietly among themselves.

Finally, Prof McGonagall turned to the Minister.

"We can confirm that everything Ms Granger has claimed about this device is true."

"I see. I think we can safely acq-"

"Madam Minister", shouted Snotbridge, "what about the 'Stun gun'?"

Amelia turned to Hermione.

Hermione sighed. "It used similar methods, but the rate of fire was too much for the crystal and it burned out. It actually burned Harry's hands, though not enough to notice unless you were looking for it. I'm afraid I could not make another copy in time for this trial, but I am sure Prof McGonagall and others will confirm that, in theory, it should be possible to build a more powerful version of this."

Again the four professors conferred.

"Indeed Ms Granger, we agree it can be done", said Prof McGonagall.

"But it is still a muggle device. There is no place for muggle devices in our world, and even taking inspiration from them should be punishable!" The man wasn't for letting go. They had thought this was such an easy victory, and it was galling to see it slip from their grasp.

"Then you would have to put whoever created the Hogwarts express, the Knight bus, and the Wizarding wireless, on trial first", said Hermione.

Before Snotbridge could react, Amelia spoke. "Let me ask you this, member Snotbridge. If I were to conjure a sword, and run you through with it, and then vanished the sword, was it steel that killed you, or was it magic?"

No one in the Wizarding had ever heard a sitting minister of magic say something that sounded even remotely like a threat. That was enough of a shock that Snotbridge sat down and shut up.

Within a few minutes, Harry was acquitted. The purebloods who had started this campaign got a black look from him for their efforts. He would deal with them later.

* * *

**Granger residence, July 30th, 1997**

"So you managed to fool them, post facto!", said Dan Granger. "That's my girl!"

"Hermione", said her mother, "You've not even completed your Hogwarts education. How did you manage to create a device like that? Do you really have enough magical theory for that?"

Hermione looked a little sheepish. "Umm, well, I had help."

"Who?", said Harry immediately, perking up. He wanted to know whom he should thank, because clearly it wasn't only Hermione.

Hermione sighed. She had been asked to keep their roles quiet, but she couldn't very well deny Harry. "OK this is a secret, you can't tell anyone. Ever. But basically, I had the idea, came up with some initial runes and equations, and then I went to Prof McGonagall for help. She quickly enlisted the other three and within a week we had a working prototype."

Harry and Dan hooted with laughter, while Emma, too, started laughing. "You mean-", Harry said while trying to stop laughing, "you mean the four professors stood there, and examined their own creation as if they had never seen it before. In court, with Minister Bones - a particularly sharp woman, standing right there?"

"Yes, and that is why they did not want their role in its creation revealed. So just forget about it, right?"

"Wait wait, what if someone in court had asked you the same question Emma asked, what would you have done?"

"I would have said I had help from the Black library, which everyone knows belongs to you now. Since that would be a family secret for the Blacks, you'd have no obligation to share it with anyone unless you wanted to."

Harry snorted.

"Wow! I still can't believe we managed to fool people into thinking this was all magic and not technology."

"Well, Harry, I don't suppose you've heard of Clarke's third law?"

"No, what is it?"

"It's a very simple law. _Any sufficently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic._

* * *

A/N: yeah, all that build up for that punch line. Oh and a 1950s submachine gun _is_ "advanced", relative to the magical world as JKR painted it.


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